Minnie Riperton

Minnie Riperton (1947 – 1979) was an American singer-songwriter best known for her 1975 single "Lovin' You". She is known as the originator of the whistle register. In a 1998 interview for Vibe magazine, Mariah Carey cited Riperton as a huge influence on her.

As a child, she studied music, drama, and dance at Chicago's Lincoln Center. In her teen years, she sang lead vocals for the Chicago-based girl group, The Gems. Her early affiliation with the legendary Chicago-based Chess Records afforded her the opportunity to sing backup for various established artists such as Etta James, Fontella Bass, Ramsey Lewis, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, and Muddy Waters. While at Chess, Riperton also sang lead for the experimental rock/soul group Rotary Connection, from 1967 to 1971. On April 5, 1975, Riperton reached the apex of her career with her #1 single, "Lovin' You". The single was the last release from her 1974 gold album entitled Perfect Angel.

In January 1976, Riperton was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a radical mastectomy.[3] By the time of diagnosis, the cancer had metastasized and she was given about six months to live. Despite the grim prognosis, she continued recording and touring. She was one of the first celebrities to go public with her breast cancer diagnosis, but did not disclose she was terminally ill.

Such a tragic story. She died at such a young age and she was the public face of breast cancer in her latter years.

She released some of her best work when she knew her time was running out, especially with some of those songs on her last album which essentially was her way of saying goodbye, Even a clip like this shows what a trooper she was right to the end, if you notice she never moves her right arm during the performance, its because the cancer had already ravaged her body so badly that her arm was already paralyzed.

NothingFails wrote:Such a tragic story. She died at such a young age and she was the public face of breast cancer in her latter years.

She released some of her best work when she knew her time was running out, especially with some of those songs on her last album which essentially was her way of saying goodbye, Even a clip like this shows what a trooper she was right to the end, if you notice she never moves her right arm during the performance, its because the cancer had already ravaged her body so badly that her arm was already paralyzed.

"Memory Lane" is such a bittersweet song. Her last album was not as good as the rest, but it has some gems: Never Existed Before, Return to Forever and Memory Lane.

Hey guys, at the moment there aren't many volunteers for her current survivor: a duo for 'Perfect Angel' and 'Adventures in Paradise'. I would love to be able to continue this and hope you all enjoy the album if you partake!!